Truth or A dare
by Faberrittanainthetardis
Summary: A knows Aria is in love with Spencer and threatens to tell her if she doesn't do what A wants. Aria is scared she'll wreck her friendship with Spencer but with A pressuring her, she feels like she can't do anything but cooperate. Romantic Sparia.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"What do you think?" Spencer held a shirt in front of her torso as she looked to Aria. "Too formal? Not formal enough? Maybe I should go for a suit."

"No." Aria shook her head seriously. "You're going for a part time job interview Spence, a suit will make you seem way too…Spencer Hastings."

"Spencer Hastings?" Spencer raised a questioning eyebrow, not entirely sure whether she should be offended by the statement, "What does that even mean?"

"Too intense." Aria answered thoughtfully. "Go for smart casual, it makes you seem more approachable."

"I didn't know I seemed _unaproachable._" Spencer frowned, throwing the shirt she was holding onto the bed. "Do you find me unapproachable?"

Aria rolled her eyes at the question. "Of course I don't, but that's because I know you're a big teddy bear while to some other people…you're a grizzly bear."

"Nice metaphor." Spencer said with a shake of her head.

"Thanks." Aria grinned and shifted slightly on the bed, waiting for Spencer to finish what she was doing.

Spencer huffed as she stared at the clothes on the bed. "I'm going business chic."

"Spence it's a _coffee shop_, you practically have the job in the bag anyway because of Emily's recommendation. Here…" Aria reluctantly moved from her comfortable position on the bed and grabbed a black shirt along with blue jeans. She proceeded to shove them into Spencer's hands. "Wear these."

"But…"

"Go." Aria lightly pushed against Spencer's shoulders, urging her backwards.

Spencer huffed out a sigh but obediently walked towards her closet. Putting the clothes down for a moment she called over her shoulder. "You know I only listen to you because you're the fasionista out of the four of us."

"So you've said." Aria responded as she watched Spencer tug the shirt she was wearing over her head. It dropped to the ground and Aria tilted her head to the side slightly, distracted by the expanse of milky skin displayed to her.

"I guess this means no tie then?" Spencer joked, grabbing the shirt Aria had picked out for her.

Aria flushed crimson and had to bite her lip to hold back the 'definitely wear a tie' that threatened to spill out. "I guess not."

A silence settled between the two and Aria let out a huff of air. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

The question was whispered and directed towards herself but Spencer managed to pick up on it.

"Nothing's wrong with me, why do you ask?" Spencer turned around just as she tugged the shirt down, giving Aria a quick flash of her abdomen.

"Uh…no reason." Aria faked a smile. "I'm just checking…it's been a while since we had any contact from A and I wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong."

Spencer looked skeptical but she accepted Aria's answer and turned back around.

Aria breathed a silent sigh of relief and fell back into her previous position, leaning against the headboard. Barely a minute passed before her phone dinged, informing her that she had a message.

Spencer looked over her shoulder. "Speak of the devil?"

Aria picked up her phone, her expression dropping at the sight of the withold number. She cautiously opened the message only for her brow to furrow in confusion – 'been spending too much time with Emily?'

"Aria?" Spencer's voice suddenly sounded much closer than before and Aria looked up to see her standing at the bottom of the bed with a concerned look on her face. "Is that A?"

"No." Aria lied, shaking her head. "It's just Jake. He wants to know if I want to hang out later."

"Oh, are you going to say yes?"

"Maybe, I don't know." Aria answered uncomfortably. Keeping a lie going was never one of her favourite things to do. "I kind of feel like having a quie…" Aria looked down at the sound of another message being received – 'Do what I want or Spencer will find out what _you_ want – _her_.

Aria inhaled sharply, dumbfounded as to how A even knew about that.

"Jake?" Spencer asked skeptically as she watched the color drain from Aria's face.

"Yeah." Aria nodded distractedly and stood up from the bed. "I-I have to Spence, Jake says it's an emergency."

"An emergency?" Spencer echoed.

"Yeah, something about…Mike. I mentioned that Jake is teaching him, right?" Aria looked around for her shoes. Finally spotting them by the door she hurried over and started to pull them on.

"I can drive you." Spencer offered, taking a small step forward.

"I can drive myself." Aria countered with a shake of her head. She winced at how that sounded and quickly backtracked. "I mean you have an interview."

"In two hours." Spencer argued. She took a step forward and grasped Aria's arms to keep her from rushing right out of the door. "Let me drive you wherever it is you need to go."

"I'm fine." Aria offered Spencer a shaky smile. "You should go to your interview, I know you like to be punctual."

"Aria…"

"I'll call you later." Aria stated before she pulled away from Spencer and opened the bedroom door.

Spencer could merely stare after Aria as she left without so much as a backwards glance. Sighing to herself she looked to the mess of clothes on her bed.

XXX

"You seem distracted." Jake noted as he watched Aria thoughtfully. "Is something bothering you?"

"What?" Aria tore her gaze away from the television and glanced up at Jake. "No, everything is fine. I was just thinking about school."

"Are you sure?" Jake checked, his hand moving to rest neatly on Aria's knee. "You know you can tell me if you want. I might be able to help."

"You can't." Aria shook her head and offered Jake a small smile. "Thank you though, I might take you up on that offer someday."

"Someday." Jake mused, returning the smile.

Aria turned her attention back to the television, trying to force herself to look like she was at least somewhat interested in whatever action movie Jake had decided they should watch. Aria shifted restlessly, a soft sigh passing her lips. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Spencer and A, making it impossible for her to focus on anything else.

Her phone vibrated on the table caught her attention and she reached forward to grab it. Noticing the caller ID she wavered for a moment before rejecting the call. Leaning back she caught sight of Jake's confused expression.

"It was just Spencer." She explained simply. A moment later her phone rang again and Aria glanced down at it to see Spencer's name on the screen.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" Jake asked expectantly.

Aria's thumb lingered over the answer button for a moment before she rejected the call. "No, I'll talk to her later."

"Did you guys get into a fight?" Jake asked, looking sincerely concerned. "I was under the impression that you were really close to Spencer."

"I am…we are." Aria answered quickly. "We didn't get into a fight, it's nothing. I just want some alone time with you…no phone calls from friends."

"Okay, if you say so." Jake said, not looking entirely convinced.

Aria leaned up and kissed him lightly to distract him. "I do say so."

Jake turned his attention back to the TV while Aria settled down next to him.

Aria wasn't focused on the movie at all, instead she picked her phone up again, deciding to turn it off in case Spencer called again. She wasn't exactly avoiding her, she told herself, she just needed some space to process and figure out what she was going to do about the situation. Ignore it probably, that was all she could do.

Just as Aria was about to turn off the phone a message flashed on the screen from a withheld number. Aria's breath caught in her throat but she quickly opened the message.

'_Who are you trying to fool? Yourself? – A. _'

TBC.


	2. Chapter 2

"Aria, Spencer is here!"

Aria froze in response to Mikes yell, her toothbrush still in her mouth. Hearing footsteps running up the stairs she quickly spat the toothpaste into the sink and rinsed with the glass of water in front of her. She stepped out of the bathroom just in time to see Spencer walk into her room.

"Aria?" Spencer called out from the bedroom.

Aria warily walked towards her bedroom and stepped inside to find that Spencer had her back turned to her. "Hey, I was just in the bathroom."

Spencer turned around and looked immediately relieved to find Aria in one piece.

"What are you doing here so early on a Sunday morning?" Aria asked, walking over to her bed. She hovered awkwardly next to it for a moment before taking a seat.

"I was worried when you didn't answer my calls last night." Spencer answered in concern. She didn't hesitate to follow Aria to the bed, taking a seat a couple of inches away from her. "I must have called you almost twenty times. I l left messages, not to mention all of the texts I sent you."

"Sorry Spence, I was busy with Jake." Aria said, raising a suggestive eyebrow. "You know?"

"Oh." Spencer looked confused for a moment before realization set in. "Oh, right! You were 'busy'."

"Very busy." Aria forced a smirk to her lips. It was a lie of course, she hadn't done anything more than kiss Jake the previous night but for some reason she felt the need to make Spencer think she was actually into the relationship. "I meant to text you before I went to bed but I forgot, sorry."

"It's okay." Spencer said quietly, though her expression and tone of voice clearly said otherwise. It wasn't like Aria to not let Spencer know that she was okay. Checking in with each other was just something they always did. She awkwardly cleared her throat and changed the subject. "I saw Mike on the way out, when I asked him if he was okay after yesterday he didn't seem to know what I was talking about."

"What?" Aria's eyes widened in alarm at the revelation, "Um…he was probably just embarrassed about the whole thing. You know how he is."

Spencer nodded thoughtfully. Mike did have a rather strong sense of pride. "So I was wondering if we could hang out today, just the two of us, since you had to take off early yesterday."

"Oh, um…" Aria glanced around the room awkwardly. "I would love to but I'm kind of busy today. I made plans with Jake."

"All day?" Spencer looked disappointed and Aria instantly felt guilty for rejecting the offer, with a lie nonetheless.

"Sorry Spence." Aria shrugged helplessly. "Maybe we could meet up for breakfast tomorrow? If Hanna and Emily are free."

"Only if Hanna and Emily are free?" Spencer echoed curiously.

Aria laughed nervously. "You know what I mean." She stood up from the bed and made her way to the dresser, hoping to avoid any more questions. Spencer was obviously starting to notice that she was acting strange and it was only a matter of time before she asked her about it outright. She turned around to face Spencer. "I'll call you later tonight if you want, we can talk then."

Spencer shot Aria a look. "Am I being dismissed?"

Aria smiled sheepishly. "I have to shower and get ready before Jake comes over."

"You shouldn't bother getting ready." Spencer smirked, leaning back slightly on the bed. "You know I think you look adorable in pajamas."

Aware of exactly what Spencer was referring to Aria glanced down at her feet which her pajamas did indeed almost cover. "If you make height jokes I'm throwing you out right now."

"I wasn't going to." Spencer grinned and held up her hands in surrender. "But…"

"Don't even say it." Aria interrupted, effectively silencing Spencer.

"Fine." Spencer chuckled to herself and stood up from the bed. "You'll definitely call me later?"

"Sure." Aria answered distractedly.

"I'm going to hold you to that." Spencer narrowed her eyes in playful warning. "I'll be waiting for your call."

"I'd expect nothing less." Aria waited until Spencer walked out of the room before she let her grin slip and leaned back against the dresser. Lying to Spencer was exhausting. A low buzz sounded from across the room and Aria glanced over at her phone. Silently hoping that it was Emily, Hanna or even Jake Aria walked over to her phone and picked it up from her bureau.

_Keep up the distance for now or be forced to keep it up permanently – A._

Aria lowered her phone to her side, her breath hitching in her throat at the realization that she'd all but backed herself into a corner by starting to ignore Spencer. There was no way A wasn't going to take advantage of the situation even if that meant ruining Aria's friendship with Spencer by telling her about Aria's hidden feelings. Aria sank onto her bed, dropping her head into her hands.

"What am I going to do?" she mumbled to herself.

XXX

Aria narrowed her eyes, struggling to focus on the black and white movie on the TV. She'd opted to stay home in hopes of avoiding Spencer as much as she could. Jake wasn't available, having to go out of time on short notice to see his family. Aria reached for the bowl of popcorn sitting on the couch next to her but froze halfway when her phone vibrated next to her. She glanced at it apprehensively and found yet another text from a withheld number. She sighed heavily, disregarding the popcorn in favour of picking up her phone.

'Go and see Emily at the Brew or I'll make sure Spencer sees you for what you really are – A.'

"Go and see Emily at the Brew." Aria read back to herself, her brow furrowing in confusion. It seemed like such a trivial request, certainly not something that A would benefit from. Grabbing the remote from the couch next to her Aria switched off the TV and stared at her phone for a moment in confusion, trying to work out what could go wrong with the request. Coming up with nothing she shook her head and stood up, moving towards the door.

XXX

"Hey Em." Aria greeted as she approached the counter where Emily was just finishing serving a customer.

Emily looked up at Aria, obviously surprised to see her. "Hey! What are you doing here?"

Aria shot Emily a quizzical look. "Is there any reason I shouldn't be here?"

"Spencer told me you were busy with Jake today." Emily said, leaning on the counter.

"Oh…I-I thought I was, he kind of cancelled on me at the last minute." Aria hastened to come up with a believable lie.

Emily nodded, seeming to accept what Aria had said as the truth. "Do you want a coffee or something? I have a break in a couple of minutes anyway."

Aria wavered for a moment before responding. "Sure."

"Your usual?" Emily asked knowingly as she turned away from Aria to grab two cups. "Double shot cappuccino?"

"Yeah." Aria laughed softly at the question. Emily was probably the only one of them who knew everyone else's coffee orders. She waited for a couple of minutes until Emily turned around with two cups in her hands. She quickly relieved Emily of one of the cups and walked towards a free table, taking a seat. Emily sat down opposite her with a weary sigh.

"Long day?" Aria asked sympathetically.

"You have no idea." Emily answered, shifting slightly in her seat. "I've been working since nine this morning."

Aria glanced at the clock on the wall to see that it was almost four in the afternoon. She turned back to Emily in concern, "Without a break? Emily, that can't be good for you."

Emily smiled tiredly. "It's fine, my shift finishes at six."

Aria opened her mouth to reply but she was interrupted by her phone vibrating in her pocket. She quickly reached for it and took it out only to find another message from the withheld number – 'Ask Emily to come over. As a 'friend' of course' – A.'

"Who was that?" Emily asked, noticing Aria's confused expression.

"Nobody." Aria set her phone aside and looked back up at Emily. "Do you want to come over to my place tonight? I have a bunch of movies ready to watch."

"I'd love to but I have plans with Paige." Emily answered apologetically. "Maybe tomorrow?"

"Sure, don't worry about it." Aria said, slightly relieved that she didn't have to do whatever A would have wanted her to do. "Is everything okay with you and Paige?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering." Aria answered, forcing herself to sound casual. "We haven't talked for a while."

"We talked yesterday." Emily said, bemused by Aria's strange behaviour. "Are you feeling okay?"

Aria glanced skittishly around the Brew.

"Aria?" Emily prompted, causing Aria to look back at her. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm just…" Aria trailed off, biting her lip. As much as she wanted to she couldn't tell Emily what was going on. "It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't seem like it doesn't matter." Emily pressed gently. "You know you can talk to me about anything that's bothering you."

"I know." Aria exhaled slowly, trying to calm her frazzled nerves, "But not this, not right now."

Emily opened her mouth to reply but she was cut off by the door to the Brew opening. She turned around in her seat to make check whether the person needed to be served – after all, she was the only member of staff in the Brew – and relaxed slightly when she saw it was only Spencer.

Spencer did a visible double take at the sight of Aria sitting at the table but she walked over anyway. "Is this a private party or can anyone join?" she asked, only half joking.

"Of course you can join." Emily shook her head in amusement. "Aria and I were just talking about…"

"Work." Aria interrupted quickly, unwilling to take the risk that Emily would tell Spencer that there was something wrong. "Emily was telling me that she's been working since nine this morning."

Emily glanced at Aria, confused by the half-lie. She was quickly distracted by Spencer who glanced at her disapprovingly.

"You should have called me, I could have helped out."

"You got the job?" Aria asked, her gaze shifting to Spencer. She wasn't at all surprised of course, Spencer generally achieved whatever she set out to achieve.

Spencer nodded, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.

"I knew you would." Aria smiled warmly. "Didn't I tell you?"

"Yeah, yeah." Spencer fondly rolled her eyes before she turned slightly more serious. "What happened to your plans with Jake?"

"Oh he cancelled on me at the last minute." Aria answered awkwardly. "He had to go out of town so I decided to come and see Emily instead."

"Since I'm busy with Paige tonight maybe Spencer could join you instead." Emily announced helpfully. "You're not busy tonight are you Spence?"

"No, I'm free." Spencer answered hopefully. "Why?"

"Actually, I just remembered I have something I need to do." Aria cut in before Emily and Spencer could get too far ahead. "I have history homework I need to catch up on. Maybe some other time though."

"Yeah," Spencer said quietly. "Maybe."

"I should actually be getting back to that." Aria said, standing up from her chair.

"But you haven't touched your coffee." Emily protested.

"Um…" Aria could tell that Emily knew something was wrong. "Spencer can have it, I should probably stay away from caffeine anyway, you know how too much of it makes me jumpy." Without waiting for a response Aria picked up her phone from the table. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye." Emily and Spencer muttered in unison. As Aria walked away she could feel their concerned stares burning into her back.

TBC.


End file.
